A Staffy cross that bit a dog and its owner in a Larkhall garden is to be rehoused in a dog sanctuary for rehabilitation.

And its owner, 33-year-old Kelly McFarlane, of Fairholm Road, was yesterday (Wed) fined £200 on a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The dog, named Chaz, had bit Scott McMahon on the hand and Mr McMahon’s dog on the head and body in a garden in Larkhall’s Sunnyside Street on April 10 this year.

It took three people to restrain the Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross and a police dog unit was needed to take the animal away.

The Crown had sought the dog’s destruction when McFarlane admitted the charge last month. However, at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday McFarlane’s lawyer Kenneth Bonnington pointed out that sentence had subsequently been deferred to determine if the dog could be rehoused, adding that he had received a letter from a dog sanctuary offering to try to rehabilitate the Staffy cross.

He explained to Sheriff Marie Smart that the sanctuary would make the decision if the dog could be rehabilitated and it would always be muzzled in public.

McFarlane, he added, was happy that the dog, currently in a police pound, could be saved. Sheriff Smart accepted that the animal should be rehoused in the dog sanctuary.

Police had attended at McFarlane’s home at 6.45pm on April 10 this year in connection with an unrelated matter.

They asked her where her dog was and she replied that she did not know.

On leaving McFarlane’s home officers went to a nearby property in Sunnyside Road at 7.15pm.

Once there, they saw Mr McMahon trying to restrain the dog in the garden. The Staffy cross then attacked Mr McMahon’s dog.

While Mr McMahon tried to separate the dogs, McFarlane’s dog bit him on the right hand.

Mr McMahon’s dog had been bitten and had several puncture wounds to its chest, neck and paws.

The court had also been told that McFarlane had told officers following the attack that she had rescued the dog which had previously been used for dog fighting.